Once upon a time there lived a powerful sultan. One day he married a very beautiful woman. He took her to his magnificent palace and laid all his wealth at her feet. He had a beautiful wife and offered her all his wealth. After a short time, however, his wife grew paler and thinner until she was soon lying in bed sick. The sultan had more food brought to her, jewellery, clothes, but it was no use, the woman became weaker and weaker.

Not far from the palace was a simple hut. A poor man lived there with his wife. The woman was not only beautiful, but also cheerful. She sang and laughed all day long.

When the sultan heard about this, he sent for the poor man.

He asked: "What do you give your wife so that she is always so cheerful?"

The poor man thought about it, then said, "I give her tongue meat."

The sultan sent the man home and immediately called the cook to him and ordered: "Cook tongue meat for my wife!"

The cook set to work and that very evening tongue meat was served to the sultan's wife. But she hardly wanted to eat it and went straight back to bed.

The sultan then ordered other tongue meat to be prepared. Different tongue meat was cooked every day, but the woman did not want to eat it and became thinner and thinner and soon became deathly ill.

In despair, the sultan sent for the poor man. He said: "My wife is dying before my eyes. Take her with you and give her tongue meat to make her well again. In the meantime, let your wife live in the palace.

So the sultana was taken to the poor man's house. From then on, the poor woman lived in the sultan's palace.

The poor man went out to work in the fields every day and when he came home in the evening, he told the sick woman everything he had experienced. She listened to his voice, soon looked forward to his return every day and it wasn't long before her appetite returned. After a short time, laughter could be heard from the poor man's house and the woman became healthy and happy as she was, her beauty also returned.

But the poor man's wife became more and more silent every day in the sultan's palace. There was enough to eat and great wealth, but she had no one to share her joys and sorrows with. Before long, she was just as thin and ill as the sultana had been before.

When the Sultan wanted to bring his wife back to the palace, he hardly recognised her. "Tell me," he asked her, "what this poor man can offer you that I, as sultan, cannot give you?"

The woman smiled and said: "He gave me tongue meat by sharing his joys and sorrows with me, telling me about his day and listening to me too."

Then the sultan understood and promised his wife that he would also give her tongue meat from that day and it is said that he kept his promise.

And the poor woman? She returned to her husband's house loaded with gifts from the sultan, so that from that day onwards they were not only happy but also no longer in need.

Fassung Djamila Jaenike, nach: J. Knappert, Mythos and Legende of the Swahili, 1970, englische Fassung Lysander Jaenike ©Mutabor Märchenstiftung